The happiest and the saddest autobiographical memories and aging. Simay Ikier & Çağla Duman. Current Psychology (2020). Aug 12 2020. https://rd.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12144-020-00993-w
Abstract: The present study investigated autobiographical memories of younger, middle-aged and older adults for the events that made them the happiest and the saddest in their lives. Participants generated these memory types and provided ratings about how positive and how negative the memory makes them feel when they currently think about it, and the positivity of the emotional content of the memory. Participants provided the age at which the event happened and rated the importance and effectiveness of the event in who they have become presently, and their perceived control over the event. Results provided supporting evidence for the positivity effect, by showing that older adults felt more positive about their memories. Middle-aged adults’ ratings resembled older adults’ for the happiest and younger adults’ for the saddest memories. Two young independent raters rated all descriptions of older adults’ memories. Results showed that young raters’ positive emotion ratings were lower than older adults, for both the happiest and the saddest memories. This result indicated that older adults do not access less negatively emotional memories or describe the memories more positively, but they just evaluate these memories more positively. Results showed a reminiscence bump for the happiest but not for the saddest memories, supporting the predictions of the Life Script Account. Additionally, results provided partial and rather weak support for the Life Story Account in younger and middle-aged adults, but not in older adults. The results indicate that older adulthood may be characterized by a more positive evaluation of life experiences.
Wednesday, August 12, 2020
Participants indicated they would stand, sit or walk closer to the stranger when either of them was wearing a mask; this form of risk compensation was stronger for those who believed masks were effective
Luckman, Ashley, Hossam Zeitoun, Andrea Isoni, Graham Loomes, Ivo Vlaev, Nattavudh Powdthavee, and Daniel Read. 2020. “Risk Compensation During COVID-19: The Impact of Face Mask Usage on Social Distancing.” OSF Preprints. August 12. doi:10.31219/osf.io/rb8he.
Abstract: To reduce the spread of Covid-19, governments around the world recommended or required minimum physical distancing between individuals, as well as either mandating or recommending the use of face coverings (masks) in certain circumstances. When multiple risk reduction activities can be adopted, people may engage in risk compensation. They may respond to reduced risk due to one activity by increasing risk due to another. We tested for risk compensation related to mask usage during the Covid-19 pandemic in two online experiments that investigated whether either wearing a mask or seeing others wearing masks reduced physical distancing. We presented participants with stylized images of everyday scenarios involving themselves with or without a mask and a stranger with or without a mask. For each scenario, participants indicated the minimum distance they would keep from the stranger. Consistent with risk compensation, we found that participants indicated they would stand, sit or walk closer to the stranger when either of them was wearing a mask. This form of risk compensation was stronger for those who believed masks were effective at preventing catching or spreading Covid-19, and for younger (18-40 years) compared to older (over 65 years) participants.
Abstract: To reduce the spread of Covid-19, governments around the world recommended or required minimum physical distancing between individuals, as well as either mandating or recommending the use of face coverings (masks) in certain circumstances. When multiple risk reduction activities can be adopted, people may engage in risk compensation. They may respond to reduced risk due to one activity by increasing risk due to another. We tested for risk compensation related to mask usage during the Covid-19 pandemic in two online experiments that investigated whether either wearing a mask or seeing others wearing masks reduced physical distancing. We presented participants with stylized images of everyday scenarios involving themselves with or without a mask and a stranger with or without a mask. For each scenario, participants indicated the minimum distance they would keep from the stranger. Consistent with risk compensation, we found that participants indicated they would stand, sit or walk closer to the stranger when either of them was wearing a mask. This form of risk compensation was stronger for those who believed masks were effective at preventing catching or spreading Covid-19, and for younger (18-40 years) compared to older (over 65 years) participants.
There is little evidence for obesity-related differences in enhanced neural reactivity to visual food cues & that such differences might be mediated by additional factors that are often not considered
Is obesity related to enhanced neural reactivity to visual food cues? A review and meta-analysis. Filip Morys, Isabel García-García, Alain Dagher. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, nsaa113, August 12 2020. https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsaa113
Abstract: Theoretical work suggests that obesity is related to enhanced incentive salience of food cues. However, evidence from both behavioral and neuroimaging studies on the topic is mixed. In this work we review the literature on cue reactivity in obesity and perform a preregistered meta-analysis of studies investigating effects of obesity on brain responses to passive food pictures viewing. Further, we examine whether age influences brain responses to food cues in obesity. In the meta-analysis we included 13 studies of children and adults that investigated group differences (obese vs. lean) in responses to food vs. non-food pictures viewing. While we found no significant differences in the overall meta-analysis, we show that age significantly influences brain response differences to food cues in the left insula and the left fusiform gyrus. In the left insula, obese vs. lean brain differences in response to food cues decreased with age, while in the left fusiform gyrus the pattern was opposite. Our results suggest that there is little evidence for obesity-related differences in responses to food cues and that such differences might be mediated by additional factors that are often not considered.
Keywords: Obesity, cue reactivity, food cues, meta-analysis, fMRI
Abstract: Theoretical work suggests that obesity is related to enhanced incentive salience of food cues. However, evidence from both behavioral and neuroimaging studies on the topic is mixed. In this work we review the literature on cue reactivity in obesity and perform a preregistered meta-analysis of studies investigating effects of obesity on brain responses to passive food pictures viewing. Further, we examine whether age influences brain responses to food cues in obesity. In the meta-analysis we included 13 studies of children and adults that investigated group differences (obese vs. lean) in responses to food vs. non-food pictures viewing. While we found no significant differences in the overall meta-analysis, we show that age significantly influences brain response differences to food cues in the left insula and the left fusiform gyrus. In the left insula, obese vs. lean brain differences in response to food cues decreased with age, while in the left fusiform gyrus the pattern was opposite. Our results suggest that there is little evidence for obesity-related differences in responses to food cues and that such differences might be mediated by additional factors that are often not considered.
Keywords: Obesity, cue reactivity, food cues, meta-analysis, fMRI
Despite Australia’s skills-based immigration policy, immigrants report worse labor market outcomes than in the US; skills-based imm. policy don't result in more selected immigrants, nor in better integration
The Integration Paradox: Asian Immigrants in Australia and the United States. Van C. Tran, Fei Guo, Tiffany J. Huang. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, August 4, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002716220926974
Abstract: Whereas Australia has pursued a skills-based migration policy, the United States has privileged family-based migration. The key contrast between these migration regimes provides a rare test of how national immigration policy shapes immigrant selection and integration. Does a skills-based immigration regime result in a more select group of Asian immigrants in Australia compared to their counterparts in the United States? Are Asian immigrants more integrated into their host society in Australia compared to the United States? Focusing on four groups of Asian immigrants in both countries (Chinese, Indians, Filipinos, and Vietnamese), this article addresses these questions using a transpacific comparison. Despite Australia’s skills-based immigration policy, we find that Asian immigrants in Australia are less hyper-selected than their counterparts in the United States. Asian immigrants in Australia also report worse labor market outcomes than those in the United States, with the exception of Vietnamese—a refugee group. Altogether, these findings challenge the conventional wisdom that skills-based immigration policy not only results in more selected immigrants, but also positively influences their integration into the host society.
Keywords: skills-based migration, family-based migration, Asian immigrants, transpacific comparison, hyper-selectivity, labor market integration
Abstract: Whereas Australia has pursued a skills-based migration policy, the United States has privileged family-based migration. The key contrast between these migration regimes provides a rare test of how national immigration policy shapes immigrant selection and integration. Does a skills-based immigration regime result in a more select group of Asian immigrants in Australia compared to their counterparts in the United States? Are Asian immigrants more integrated into their host society in Australia compared to the United States? Focusing on four groups of Asian immigrants in both countries (Chinese, Indians, Filipinos, and Vietnamese), this article addresses these questions using a transpacific comparison. Despite Australia’s skills-based immigration policy, we find that Asian immigrants in Australia are less hyper-selected than their counterparts in the United States. Asian immigrants in Australia also report worse labor market outcomes than those in the United States, with the exception of Vietnamese—a refugee group. Altogether, these findings challenge the conventional wisdom that skills-based immigration policy not only results in more selected immigrants, but also positively influences their integration into the host society.
Keywords: skills-based migration, family-based migration, Asian immigrants, transpacific comparison, hyper-selectivity, labor market integration
Myths and Misconceptions About Hypnosis and Suggestion: Separating Fact and Fiction
Myths and Misconceptions About Hypnosis and Suggestion: Separating Fact and Fiction. Steven Jay Lynn Irving Kirsch Devin B. Terhune Joseph P. Green. Applied Cognitive Psychology, August 11 2020. https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.3730
Summary: We present 21 prominent myths and misconceptions about hypnosis in order to promulgate accurate information and to highlight questions for future research. We argue that these myths and misconceptions have (a) fostered a skewed and stereotyped view of hypnosis among the lay public, (b) discouraged participant involvement in potentially helpful hypnotic interventions, and (c) impeded the exploration and application of hypnosis in scientific and practitioner communities. Myths reviewed span the view that hypnosis produces a trance or special state of consciousness and allied myths on topics related to hypnotic interventions; hypnotic responsiveness and the modification of hypnotic suggestibility; inducing hypnosis; and hypnosis and memory, awareness, and the experience of nonvolition. By demarcating myth from mystery and fact from fiction, and by highlighting what is known as well as what remains to be discovered, the science and practice of hypnosis can be advanced and grounded on a firmer empirical footing.
15. Hypnosis produces a sleep-like state
16. Hypnosis is like mindfulness
17. There are reliable markers of a hypnotic state
18. The perception of involuntariness during hypnosis is the product of a trance
19. People cannot resist or oppose hypnotic suggestions
20. Hypnosis is a reliable method to improve recent memories
Simons and Chabris (2011) reported that as many as 55.4% of the U.S. general public agreed that “Hypnosis is useful in helping witnesses accurately recall details of crimes.” However, although hypnosis can produce increases in accurate memories, increases in inaccurate memories (Scoboria, Mazzoni, Kirsch, & Milling (2002). Courts in 27 states in the U.S. have barred admitting testimony based on concerns about false memories and unwarranted confidence in such memories (see Lynn, Boycheva, Deming, & Hallquist, 2009). For example, in 23 studies Lynn et al. (2009) reviewed, hypnotized individuals either expressed greater confidence in recollections during or after hypnosis compared with individuals who were not hypnotized, or hypnotized individuals expressed confidence in inaccurate memories regarding events they had previously denied (see Lynn et al., 2009). In an additional nine studies, participants in hypnotic and nonhypnotic conditions were equally confident in their recollections. However, in five of the studies, hypnosis engendered more errors or less accurate information on some or all measures, and in all but one of the remaining studies, there were no differences in hypnotic vs. nonhypnotic memory accuracy. The role of misleading questions in hypnotic versus nonhypnotic recall and the extent to which hypnosis impacts "don't know" responses and unanswerable questions remain unclear (Scoboria, Mazzoni, Kirsch, & Milling, 2002; Scoboria et al., 2006; Scoboria, Mazzoni, & Kirsch, 2008). In sum, hypnosis is not a reliable recall enhancement tool (Mazzoni, Heap, & Scoboria, 2010).
21. Hypnotic age regression can retrieve accurate memories from the distant past
Summary: We present 21 prominent myths and misconceptions about hypnosis in order to promulgate accurate information and to highlight questions for future research. We argue that these myths and misconceptions have (a) fostered a skewed and stereotyped view of hypnosis among the lay public, (b) discouraged participant involvement in potentially helpful hypnotic interventions, and (c) impeded the exploration and application of hypnosis in scientific and practitioner communities. Myths reviewed span the view that hypnosis produces a trance or special state of consciousness and allied myths on topics related to hypnotic interventions; hypnotic responsiveness and the modification of hypnotic suggestibility; inducing hypnosis; and hypnosis and memory, awareness, and the experience of nonvolition. By demarcating myth from mystery and fact from fiction, and by highlighting what is known as well as what remains to be discovered, the science and practice of hypnosis can be advanced and grounded on a firmer empirical footing.
15. Hypnosis produces a sleep-like state
16. Hypnosis is like mindfulness
17. There are reliable markers of a hypnotic state
18. The perception of involuntariness during hypnosis is the product of a trance
19. People cannot resist or oppose hypnotic suggestions
20. Hypnosis is a reliable method to improve recent memories
Simons and Chabris (2011) reported that as many as 55.4% of the U.S. general public agreed that “Hypnosis is useful in helping witnesses accurately recall details of crimes.” However, although hypnosis can produce increases in accurate memories, increases in inaccurate memories (Scoboria, Mazzoni, Kirsch, & Milling (2002). Courts in 27 states in the U.S. have barred admitting testimony based on concerns about false memories and unwarranted confidence in such memories (see Lynn, Boycheva, Deming, & Hallquist, 2009). For example, in 23 studies Lynn et al. (2009) reviewed, hypnotized individuals either expressed greater confidence in recollections during or after hypnosis compared with individuals who were not hypnotized, or hypnotized individuals expressed confidence in inaccurate memories regarding events they had previously denied (see Lynn et al., 2009). In an additional nine studies, participants in hypnotic and nonhypnotic conditions were equally confident in their recollections. However, in five of the studies, hypnosis engendered more errors or less accurate information on some or all measures, and in all but one of the remaining studies, there were no differences in hypnotic vs. nonhypnotic memory accuracy. The role of misleading questions in hypnotic versus nonhypnotic recall and the extent to which hypnosis impacts "don't know" responses and unanswerable questions remain unclear (Scoboria, Mazzoni, Kirsch, & Milling, 2002; Scoboria et al., 2006; Scoboria, Mazzoni, & Kirsch, 2008). In sum, hypnosis is not a reliable recall enhancement tool (Mazzoni, Heap, & Scoboria, 2010).
21. Hypnotic age regression can retrieve accurate memories from the distant past
As hypothesized, individuals’ levels of basal testosterone were positively related to susceptibility to minority influence; in contrast, susceptibility to majority influence was unaffected by basal testosterone
Basal Testosterone Renders Individuals More Receptive to Minority Positions. Markus Germar, Andreas Mojzisch. Social Psychological and Personality Science, August 11, 2020.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550620945116
Abstract: Social influence is an inevitable part of human social interaction. Although past research has demonstrated that testosterone has a key role in social interaction, no study has examined its role in social influence so far. Building on previous research showing that minority positions are perceived as risky options and that testosterone is positively associated with status seeking and risk-taking, we hypothesized that basal testosterone renders individuals more receptive to minority positions. In two studies, participants (total N = 250) read messages that were supported by either a numerical majority or minority. As hypothesized, individuals’ levels of basal testosterone were positively related to susceptibility to minority influence. In contrast, susceptibility to majority influence was unaffected by basal testosterone. Given the importance of minorities for innovation and change within societies, our results suggest that individuals with high levels of testosterone may play an important role as catalysts of social change.
Keywords: social influence, minority, majority, basal testosterone, social change
https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550620945116
Abstract: Social influence is an inevitable part of human social interaction. Although past research has demonstrated that testosterone has a key role in social interaction, no study has examined its role in social influence so far. Building on previous research showing that minority positions are perceived as risky options and that testosterone is positively associated with status seeking and risk-taking, we hypothesized that basal testosterone renders individuals more receptive to minority positions. In two studies, participants (total N = 250) read messages that were supported by either a numerical majority or minority. As hypothesized, individuals’ levels of basal testosterone were positively related to susceptibility to minority influence. In contrast, susceptibility to majority influence was unaffected by basal testosterone. Given the importance of minorities for innovation and change within societies, our results suggest that individuals with high levels of testosterone may play an important role as catalysts of social change.
Keywords: social influence, minority, majority, basal testosterone, social change
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